Seachem Prime - info from the CEO

[RD.]

I contacted Greg Morin from Seachem this morning & I thought that some of you might be interested in the following info. Greg is not only the CEO of Seachem, but also has a Ph.D in this "stuff", so I felt that it would best to let him explain the reasoning behind treating for the entire tank volume, when refilling directly from the tap.

Below is a portion of our discussion.

I was wondering if you could explain the reasoning behind the instructions by Seachem for treating the entire tank volume (when using Prime/Safe), if one is treating the new water while refilling the tank. "May be added to aquarium directly, but better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume. "

Personally I typically add the conditioner (Prime/Safe) based only on the water volume being replaced, to a 1 gallon jug, and then slowly add that mix in stages as my tank refills. Is this not adequate?

Greg's response:

"some people prefer to just add the new untreated water directly to the tank... if they do that then we recommend the amount of Prime they add be based on the total gallonage of the aquarium rather than just what they added. The "extra" amount speeds up the rate of removal."

I then asked: Is the reaction time based on pH, or any other factors?

I was curious about pH being a factor as the makers of ClorAm-X state:

"At low pH's this reaction proceeds slower than at pH's above 7, but in practical terms the reaction proceeds quickly enough to provide complete ammonia removal in an hour or less."

Greg's response:

It would be influced by pH although I'm not sure if the differences we see in an aquarium would contribute significantly to the time scale at a level where it would be noticed. But the reaction is one that produces H+ so higher pH would tend to favor the reaction although I'm not sure if kinetically it would have a noticeable effect.

But, at the end of the day, if what you are doing works and does not cause any problems then it is ok. Our recommendations are meant to cover a broad range of users and we tend to prefer to err on the side of being overly cautious.

Greg Morin

--

Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~Chairman/CEO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Shai]

Interesting.

Not to mention that dosing for the entire tank volume means using up the product faster, which means buying another bottle sooner. ; )

I usually dose somewhere in the middle--for the amount of water being replaced plus a little bit.

[hybrid]

great info neil

but how come sometimes i get tiny black flecks in my bottles ??

[RD.]

According to Seachem, a sulfur odor and the small black specks in the product is normal.

[RDFISHGUY]

Here is the response to some questions I had for him. Thanks for the hook-up and the leg work Neil.

What you previously wrote:>1) Can I dilute the Prime with water at a 1:1 ratio and will it still be stable?

Yes, it will remain stable, assuming the pH stays basically the same. We pH Prime to be above 7 for long term stability. At lower pH it will degrade over time... but we're talking months-years here... I assume you're just talking about dilution and use over a few days. But I wouldn't dilute it and pH it to 4, that would be a problem. But if you're ro or di or reasonably good tap water to dilute you should be fine.

>>2) How long does Prime stay active once in the aquarium water?

Prime is a general reducing agent so it will react rapidly with anything that can be reduced, normally that is chlorine/chloramine so it reacts with those first because they are strong oxidizers. But if there is no chlorine/chloramine in the tank water then Prime will react with whatever general organics are

in there that can be reduced, so how long it last depends on how "clean" your aquarium water is. If it is real dirty it won't last too long, if very clean, then it will last longer... but in either case I'd say you're on the order of minutes-hours range in an active aquarium if there is no chlorine/chloramine present. -Greg Morin

[RD.]

No prob, glad that it helped you on your dosing unit questions.

Just imagine all the $$$ you'll be saving now that you'll be dosing with the correct amount.

.

Edited January 6, 2010 by RD.